Broward teachers may get salary increase

The Broward Teachers Union and the district have reached a tentative agreement to increase teacher pay after almost four years of frozen wages.

The $8.5 million salary increase would affect the more than 14,000 teachers in the district, officials said Tuesday during a last -minute news conference.

The agreement must be ratified by union members and the school board before it can take effect in 2013.

The plan calls for a raise based on teacher experience, or steps, and additional bonuses for lower-paid teachers.

The step increase for all teachers will average to a slightly less than 2 percent increase, union members said.

"This is a significant settlement, and it sends an important message to the Broward community," said John Tarka, interim leader for BTU. "We still have more work to do, but it sets the framework for upcoming agreements."

Teachers at the highest-paid step will receive a $500 salary increase since they are not eligible for a step raise, officials said. That is projected to cost an additional $1.6 million.

The news received mix reaction among teachers, many of whom have taken on extra jobs to make ends meet.

"No one's going to be unhappy but at the same time when you haven't had a raise in four years, that doesn't really pay for a whole lot," said Laura LaPerna, a fourth-grade teacher at McNab Elementary School in Pompano Beach.

"This is the only profession in the world where each year I'm making less," said LaPerna, who also tutors after school for additional income.

In addition to the step increase, teachers on lower pay schedules (steps 1-16) will receive one-time bonus payments totaling $1.4 million. The bonus payments will be determined by need and will vary in quantity, union officials said.

When teachers are hired they are put on salary schedules that are supposed to increase year by year, but the last time a step raise was awarded was for the 2008-09 school year. Last year, teachers only received a $500 across-the-board bonus.

Cypress Bay High School teacher Kalebra Williams said the agreement signaled the return of step raises.

"I really see it as a positive move," said Williams, who has been teaching in the district for 11 years. "It's not where we want to be, but it's a step in the right direction and that feels good after four years of no raise."

Broward Superintendent of Schools Robert Runcie said the district had been more diligent this year in operating the budget.

The district had looked for "every penny" and cut more than $28 million in administrative costs, Runcie said.

The union had originally proposed a step increase retroactive to the beginning of the school year but settled for an implementation mid-year.

"I don't think teachers are going to be overjoyed, but I think it's a move in the right direction," said George Segna, chief negotiator for the union.

Runcie said the agreement set a more "collaborative tone."

"There have been historical attitudes in a culture where it's no secret that the management and the union were constantly in conflict," Runcie said, adding that he personally managed the process this year.

The two sides also reached tentative agreements on teacher breaks and teaching loads, among other items.

The American Federation of Teachers, BTU's parent organization, said in a statement, the tentative agreement also marked a major milestone in restoring trust with its members. In July, former chief Pat Santeramo was charged with stealing $300,000 from union coffers.

As the school district is the largest employer in the county, Runcie anticipated the teacher raises would create similar expectations from other unions but said he was ready to "work as collaboratively as possible." And he committed to finding salary increases for other bargaining units represented by the BTU.

The board Tuesday also approved two contracts with the Federation of Public Employees for its clerical and food services staff that included no wage increase for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years.

Both contracts, though, could be reopened to negotiate certain terms.

Meanwhile, in Palm Beach County, the Classroom Teachers Association and the district continue negotiating over a similar pay raise that would be tied to teacher experience.

Brian Phillips, chief negotiator for the union, said he hoped the district would follow Broward's lead and propose salary step raises for teachers.

The district said step increases were last awarded in the 2007-08 school year and were discontinued because of budget shortfalls.